Explanation of Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is Shopify’s built-in payment processor, available on every Shopify plan in supported countries. It lets your store accept credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets directly through Shopify without setting up a separate gateway like Stripe or PayPal. This guide covers how Shopify Payments works, which countries support it, the current fees by plan, how chargebacks are handled, and when to use a third-party processor instead.

With Shopify Payments, you can accept all major payment methods from the moment your store goes live. It is the native payment processing system for Shopify stores, offering tight integration with Shopify checkout, order management, and financial reporting.

What Countries Support Shopify Payments?

Shopify Payments is available in 40+ countries as of 2026. Below is the full list. If your country is not listed, you will need to use a third-party payment gateway such as Stripe or PayPal.

Americas

• United States
• Canada

Europe

• United Kingdom
• Ireland
• Germany
• France
• Italy
• Spain
• Netherlands
• Belgium
• Sweden
• Denmark
• Finland
• Norway
• Austria
• Switzerland
• Czech Republic
• Romania
• Portugal
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Estonia
• Greece
• Hungary
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Poland
• Slovakia
• Slovenia

Asia-Pacific

• Australia
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• Hong Kong SAR
• Japan

Most competitors list only five or six countries when answering this question. The full list matters because merchants in Switzerland, Singapore, or Eastern Europe often assume they cannot use Shopify Payments when they actually can. If your country appears above, you are eligible to apply during store setup or from Settings > Payments in your Shopify admin.

What Are the Advantages of Using Shopify Payments?

There are several reasons Shopify merchants default to Shopify Payments over a third-party gateway.

Flexible Checkout and Payment Methods

With Shopify Payments, customers can use credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Shop Pay. They do not need to leave your store to complete a purchase. Shopify stores using Shopify Payments automatically meet PCI compliance requirements for secure payment processing.

You can also sell in multiple currencies and let customers see prices in their local currency at checkout. Accelerated checkout via Shop Pay means returning customers can complete a purchase in a single tap, which typically improves conversion rates on mobile.

Easy to Set Up and Use

Shopify Payments is pre-integrated with every Shopify subscription. There is no third-party account to create, no separate dashboard to log into, and no webhook configuration required. Orders and payouts both live in the same Shopify admin, which makes reconciliation straightforward.

You can also enable fraud filters, run fraud analysis on suspicious orders, and customise your payout schedule all from the same settings panel.

No Shopify Transaction Fee

Shopify charges an additional transaction fee on every sale when you use a third-party gateway: 2% on Basic, 1% on Shopify, and 0.5% on Advanced. That fee disappears entirely when you use Shopify Payments. For a store doing $10,000 per month on a Basic plan, switching from Stripe to Shopify Payments saves $200 per month in transaction fees alone, before accounting for the processing rate difference.

What Are the Charges for Shopify Payments? (2026 Pricing)

Shopify Payments fees for US merchants in 2026 (online transactions):

• Basic Shopify: 2.9% + 30¢ per online transaction, 2.7% in person
• Shopify: 2.6% + 30¢ online, 2.5% in person
• Advanced Shopify: 2.4% + 30¢ online, 2.4% in person
• Shopify Plus: Negotiated rate (typically 2.15% + 30¢ or lower depending on volume)

For merchants outside the US, rates differ by country. UK merchants on Basic pay 2% + 25p online. Canadian merchants on Basic pay 2.9% + 30¢. Australian merchants on Basic pay 1.75% + 30¢, which is lower because card network interchange fees are more competitive in Australia. European rates vary by country and plan but generally sit between 1.5% and 2.9% + a fixed fee depending on the plan tier.

There are no monthly gateway fees, setup fees, or hidden charges beyond the per-transaction rate. Shopify does not charge extra for chargebacks beyond the $15 dispute fee (covered below), and there are no additional fees for accepting Apple Pay or Google Pay.

How to Set Up Shopify Payments

Setting up Shopify Payments takes about five minutes if you have your business information ready. Here are the steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings and then Payments.
2. Under “Shopify Payments,” click Complete account setup.
3. Enter your business details: business type (individual or company), legal business name, address, and EIN or tax number depending on your country.
4. Add your banking details so Shopify knows where to send your payouts. You will need your routing number and account number for US merchants, or the equivalent (sort code and account number in the UK, BSB in Australia).
5. Verify your identity. Shopify uses Stripe’s identity verification on the backend, so you may be asked to upload a government-issued ID for sole proprietors or directors of companies.
6. Review and accept the Shopify Payments terms of service.

Once approved, Shopify Payments is active immediately. Most applications are approved within minutes. In some cases, Shopify or Stripe may request additional documentation for higher-risk business categories, which can take one to two business days.

How Shopify Payments Handles Chargebacks

A chargeback happens when a customer contacts their bank or card issuer to dispute a charge, rather than coming to you for a refund. When this occurs with Shopify Payments, here is what happens:

1. Shopify notifies you by email and flags the order in your admin with a “Chargeback” label.
2. Shopify deducts the disputed amount plus a $15 dispute fee from your next payout. This fee is charged by the card network and passed through, not charged by Shopify on top.
3. You have a window (typically 7 to 21 days depending on the card network) to respond with evidence. Shopify gives you a form inside the admin where you can upload shipping confirmations, communication records, tracking numbers, and signed delivery receipts.
4. If you win the dispute, the full amount including the $15 fee is refunded to you. If you lose, you keep nothing and the $15 is gone.

Shopify Payments includes basic fraud analysis tools to help you catch suspicious orders before they ship. You can also enable AVS (address verification) and CVV requirements in your payment settings to reduce fraud. For stores with higher chargeback rates, the fraud filter in Shopify Payments lets you automatically flag or hold orders that fail certain risk thresholds.

The Cons of Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is not the right choice for every merchant. These are the specific situations where it falls short.

Country Restriction

Shopify Payments is only available in the 40+ countries listed above. If your country is not on that list, you cannot use it at all and must rely on PayPal, Stripe (where available), or a local payment gateway supported by Shopify.

Account Holds

Shopify, via Stripe, can place a temporary hold on your payouts if your store triggers fraud flags, sells restricted products, or experiences a sudden spike in chargebacks. Holds can range from a few days to several weeks, and Shopify does not always give a specific release date upfront. Merchants selling digital goods, high-ticket items, or products in grey-area categories (supplements, adult content, firearms accessories) are at higher risk of holds.

Restricted Business Categories

Shopify Payments has a list of prohibited and restricted business types. Prohibited categories include firearms, tobacco, adult content (in most cases), and certain financial services. If your store falls into a restricted category, your account may be closed without much warning. Review Shopify’s Terms of Service before applying if you are unsure whether your product type qualifies.

Limited Export and Accounting Integration

Shopify Payments reports live inside Shopify admin, which is convenient for most merchants. However, if you need clean exports to dedicated accounting software (especially if you run multiple sales channels with separate gateways), the reconciliation can get awkward. QuickBooks and Xero integrations exist but require a third-party connector app to work well with Shopify Payments data.

When NOT to Use Shopify Payments

Despite the fee advantages, there are clear situations where a third-party gateway makes more sense:

• You are in an unsupported country. There is no workaround. Pick Stripe, PayPal, or a local gateway instead.
• You sell in a high-risk category. If your products are likely to trigger a Shopify Payments hold or account closure, start with a gateway (like Stripe, used directly) that has explicit support for your category or a high-risk acquirer that specialises in your niche.
• You need multi-gateway redundancy. Some high-volume merchants run two gateways simultaneously so that if one experiences downtime or a hold, the other keeps processing. Shopify Payments does not allow a second active gateway; you would need to choose between Shopify Payments and a third-party option.
• You want more control over the payment stack. Shopify Payments is a closed system. If you need custom checkout flows, direct API access to transaction data, or tight integration with an existing ERP or order management system, Stripe or Braintree used directly gives you more flexibility even at the cost of the Shopify transaction fee.
• You already have excellent rates elsewhere. If you process enough volume to have negotiated rates below 2.4% + 30¢ with an existing processor, switching to Shopify Payments may not save you money, especially after factoring in any integration work.

Alternatives to Shopify Payments

If Shopify Payments is not available in your country or is not the right fit for your business, here are the main alternatives:

• PayPal: Available globally and widely trusted by buyers. PayPal charges 3.49% + a fixed fee for standard checkout and 2.99% + fixed fee for unbranded card payments. Keep in mind the Shopify transaction fee still applies when using PayPal as your only gateway.
• Stripe: Available in more countries than Shopify Payments and gives you more control over the payment flow. Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ in the US. The Shopify transaction fee still applies when using Stripe as your gateway on Shopify.
• Other gateways: Shopify supports 100+ payment gateways worldwide. If neither Shopify Payments nor Stripe is available in your region, check the Shopify Payments help page to find gateways supported for your country.

The key trade-off with any third-party gateway on Shopify is the additional transaction fee: 0.5% on Advanced, 1% on Shopify, and 2% on Basic. That fee disappears only when you use Shopify Payments. On a Basic plan doing $5,000 per month, that is $100 per month in extra fees just for using Stripe instead of Shopify Payments, before comparing processing rates.

Key Information About Shopify Payments

• No separate gateway account required; activates from your Shopify admin
• Payout timing: 2 business days in the US, 3 business days in the UK, varies by country
• You can customise your payout schedule (daily, weekly, monthly) in Settings > Payments
• Multi-currency supported: customers see prices in their local currency, you get paid in your store currency
• PCI DSS compliance is handled automatically
• Shopify Payments is not available for every business type; check the restricted categories list before applying
• The $15 chargeback dispute fee is refunded if you win the dispute